A Kuwaiti motorist who appeared to be under the illusion that he was immune from traffic fines given that he was driving a car with foreign number plates has been told he will have to pay 57,575 dinars in fines for flouting traffic rules 1,645 times.

The motorist, as also all other Kuwaitis who own or drive cars with number plates issued in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, have been given one month’s time to get Kuwaiti number plates, an interior ministry official has said.

Abdullah Al Muhanna, the assistant undersecretary for traffic affairs, said in a statement carried by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) that several Kuwaitis opt to retain Gulf number plates on their cars thinking that driving cars with foreign number plates would save them from being charged with traffic violations.

Some of the traffic infractions committed by such motorists are very serious and include jumping red lights and driving at outrageous speeds, the official added.

According to reports, traffic campaigns launched three months ago in Kuwait have tracked down 102 drivers with GCC licence plates who committed 13,192 violations between them and drew fines of 450,000 dinars.

“We have a database with the names of all the people in Kuwait driving cars with GCC plates,” Al Muhanna said. “We will maintain our zero-tolerance policy towards anyone breaking the law regardless of the plates of the car. We have given those who have Gulf plates one month to replace them with Kuwaiti ones,” he said.

Adel Al Hashash, Head of relations and security media, said that those who believed that the use of non-Kuwaiti licence plates would guarantee immunity from being booked for traffic violations were mistaken.

“The police have all the details and no driver can avoid the long arm of the law or hide or escape,” he said.